Connecter



Oct. 16, 1928.

J. CLARK CONNECTER Filed July 11, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 'Oct.16,1928. v1,688,176

J. CLARK CONNECTER Filed July 11, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 mess,-

IJOberJ Fatented (lot. 16, 1928.

insane JOHN CLARK, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

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Application filed July 11, 1927.. Serial No. 204,789..

My invention'relates to improvements in connectors for connecting twoobjects to gether, such as chains or cables, or for connecting a chainor cable to another object.

This invention is designed to supplant ordinary or standard. hooks,swivel hooks, and bolt shackles, usually employed for hoisting, pulling,andother purposes, since the ordinary and the swivel hooks'become easilydisconnected and cause many serious accidents, and often loss of life,whereas the use ol :1 bolt shackle necessitates the removal of the boltfrom the shackle and replacing of the same, which is a tedious andcun'ibersome operation and oftentimes results in the nut of the boltbecoming loosened and accidental withdrawal of the bolt from theshackle, causing disconnection of the part to be moved, or transported,as the case may be.

The primary object of my invention is the provision of a connector inthe form of a link, swivel, or hook so constructed that accidentaldisconnection of the partsor objects connected thereby cannot takeplace, and wherein all abrupt shoulders or projec tions are dispensedwith so as to avoid catching onto any other object.

Another object of my invention, in its preferred form, is to provide akeeper movable in the plane of the part, or more particularly thatportion of the part, with which it is adapted for engagement.

A still further object of my invention is to provide means for lockingthe keeper in retainingposition so that accidental movement of thekeeper out of retainingv position is prevented.

lVith the above and other objects in view, my invention consists in thenovel features of construction and in the arrangement and combination ofparts to be hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out inthe subjoined claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is aplan view of'adjacent ends of two chains connected togetherby my improved connector.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal section takenon line 33, Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an enlargedtransverse section taken on line 44.-, Fig. 2.

same connecting adjacent ends of a chain and cable.

Fig. 10 is a side elevation shown in Fig. 9.. 4

In the preferred embodiment of my invention, I have shown the novelfeatures thereof applied to two connected clevises,which together form alink-like connector, correof the parts spending ends of the two clevisesbeing connected together by means of interlinked eyes while the otherends of said clevises are connected .by means of an eye and a hook, thehook being closed by means of my improved keeper and locking mechanism.

In this preferred construction, 11 designates one of the two clevises.of the link-like connector, and it has an eye 12 at one end and a hook13- at its other end, the eye being at right angles: to the hook. Theother clevis 14 has an eye 15 at one end at right angles to the eye 12of the clevis 11, which is interlinked therewith so as to provide apermanent, but loose, flexible connection between the two clevises atcorresponding ends thereof. At its other end, said clevis I l isprovided with an eye 16 at'right angles tothe eye 15, said eye 16 beingadapted for connection and disconnection with the ho0k13 so that thelink formed by the two clevises can be opened for'connection thereto ofone or more chains, cables, or other lifting or pulling elements. V

Inthe drawings I have shown the, end link of a chain I? hooked over oneof the clevises and the end link of another chain 18 hooked over theother. clevi-s of the two-part link, as it may be termed. It will, ofcourse, be apparent that a link, cable, rod, or other similar elementmaybe connected to one; of the cleviscs and when the link-like connector isopened, attachment may be made through the medium of the other clevis toan object to be lifted, transported or otherwise manipulated.

On the clevis having the hook 13 formed at one end thereof, a lug 19 isformed in line with the end or terminal 20 of the hook and connectedwith said lug is a keeper 21, which has a bifurcated inner end 22,forming two spaced flat-faced portions 23 lying at opposite sides ofsaid lug 19. The bifurcated inner end of the keeper therefore receivessaid lug. The bifurcated inner end of'said keeper and the lug 19 areprovided with registering openings through which a pivot bolt 2 rispassed, and by reason of which the keeper is permitted toswing towardand from the outer end or terminal 20 of said hook. The outer end ofthis keeper is adapted to be swung over the end or terminal of the hookand it has a stud 25 formed on the inner side thereof at its outer enddisposed at an acute angle thereto, which is adapted'to enter an opening26 formed in the end or terminal of said hook, said opening' beinginclined to conform to the dis position of the stud 25 on the keeper.The pivot bolt 2i has a head 27 at its inner end provided with a lateralextension 28 serving as a finger piece, and by means of which the boltcan be rotated within the Openings 26 formed through the lug l9 and thebifurcated end of the keeper 21. Said head bears against the inner sideof the bifurcated end of thekeeper 21 and the outerend of said bolt isscrew threaded and has a nut 29 applied thereto which may be tightenedby hand sufficiently to prevent accidental rotation of the pivot.

On the hook portion of the clevis 11 a stop lug 30 is formed, againstwhich the finger piece 28 projecting from the head of the pivot bolt isadapted to hear when the outer end of" the keeper is'locked to the hook.The locking of this keeper is accomplished by the pivot bolt, which hastwo spaced notches 31 formed therein which are valined with the twospaced flat-faced portions 23 of the keeper. One of said notches isdisposed adjacent the head of the bolt. The

complete cylindrical formation of the bolt is retained in the regionbetween these notches and this region of the bolt is rotatable ll1'l3l18 lug 19. Therefore, when rotating the bolt so that the notchesthereof are toward the outer end or terminal of the hook 13, movement ofthe keeper lengthwise is prevented and at such tiniesthe iin-' ger piece28 lies inco'ntact with the stop lug 30. This .is the position of theparts when the stud 25 of the keeper is inserted into the opening 26 ofthe hook and is drawn firmly against that portion of the surroundingwall of said openingnearer the extremity of the hook, thus makingitimpossible for the stud to become disengaged from said center.

opening and assuring a positive locking of V the keeper to the hook.

of the keeper is limited only by the depth of the notches 31, and thewalls of the openings in said keeper bear against the inner walls of thesaid notches, which inner walls are made convex, as at 32, the convexitybeing described from a center having the The extent of forward movementsame radius as the radii of the openings in the keeper so that ridingsurfaces are pro-- vided for th walls of said openings, con,- forminexactly to the curvature of the walls of said openings 1 Viewing Fig. 3of the drawings, it will be apparent therefore that it is necessary torotate the pivot bolt throughapproximately one-half of a completerevolution in order that the necessary play is provided for the movementof the keeper in a forward direction or toward the bight of'the hookwhile swinging the keeper on the pivot bolt so as topermit thewithdrawal of the stud 25 from the opening 26 in the end or termi nal ofthe hook. Owing to the reflex angle of said hook andopening,disconnection of the keeper from the terminal of the hook cannot takeplace when the pivot bolt is so.

the notches 31 therein are positioned that faced forwardly-or towardthe'bight of the hook; thus assurance is had that any object connectedto the hook cannot become accidentally disengaged. Moreover, it is to beforming a suitable-terminal other than thatshown by the remainingportion of the clevis of which the hook forms part, myinvention will beembodied in what may be termed a standard type of hook; or, suchterminal maybe formed to providea swivel hook, or otherwise.

Inthe modified closed in Figs. 7 and 8, I have shown a connecter comrisin a clevis and an eve'36 the eye having a smaller eye 37 at one sideof its center in the form of an extension thereof interlinked with aneye 38 at one end of the clevis 35. At the opposite side of the eye" 36I provide a hook 39, which is passed through an eye 40 at the other endform of my invention disnoted that the outer end of the keeperis' lug iland the bifurcated inner end of said keeper to pivotally connect thelatter to said lug. This keeper includes a hook-shaped terminal 45,-which is adapted to swing in contait with the outer side of the hook 39,the hook-shaped terminal l5 being reversely arranged with respect to thehook 39,. and when swung against the side of the hook 39, servingtoclose the latter, as best shown in Fig.8, thus guarding againstaccidental dis-- connection of the clevis 35 connected thereto. The partconnected to the clevis 35 and therefore indirectly to the hook 39 andretained by the keeper 43 is shown as the end link of a chain 46, whilea cable a? is fastened to the eye 36. The bight of the hook 39 and thatof the hook-like terminal 45 of the keeper e3 are similarly formed sothat a smooth riding surface 48 is provided for the eye 40 of the clevis35,. and to assure the registration of these two bights, a stop lug 49is formed on the inner side of the keeper, which engages the opposedsurface 50 formed on the hook 39, asbest shown in Fig. 8. It is to beunderstood that inlieu of theeye 36, a clevis similar to the clevis 35may be substituted. The combined thickness of the, hook 39 and keeper43- approximates that of an ordinary hook, thus making it possible toreduce the thickness of the hook 39, which nevertheless with the aid ofthe hook-like terminal of the keeper will provide the necessary strengthto withstand all strain to which the device will be subjected. In thismodification, all abrupt or sharp edges are eliminated so as to avoidcatching against an object during the use of the device.

Preparatory to connecting a link of a chain or other object to theclevis 85, it-is necessary to disconnectthe eye 40 of said clevis fromthe hook 3, after which the link or other object may be passed over theend of the clevis thus freed, and the eye 40 again connected with thehook 39. The keeper 4:3 is then swung downwardly along the side of thehook with the hook-like terminal of the keeper passed through the linkor part connected to the hook. To enable the hook-like terminal of thekeeper to pass through said eye or other part connected to the hook,said eye or other part is moved rearwardly toward the pivot of thekeeper so as to enable the extremity of the latter to pass through theopening of the link or part so connected, which link or part will thenbe drawn forwardly so as to lie in contact with the bights of both thehook 39 and the keeper 43, the latter by reason of its terminalextending Well, rearwardly beyond its bight being, retained againstswinging movement,

In the modification shown in Figs. 9 and 10, the clevis 35 shown inFigs, 7 and 8, with its eyes 38 and 40 is employed; also the eye 36 withthe extension eye SZand hook 39.

The hook, however, is provided 'witha cutaway POItlOD. 51 at its outerside, and a keeper 521's provided which is'pivotally secured to the eyeby a pivot bolt 58 extending throughthe eye 36 in the plane of the hookso that the keeper 52', in this instance, will swing in a transversedirection to and from the hook 39, against the side of which it ies whenin closed position. In this modification the eye 3.6 has the cable 47connected thereto, and the end link of a chain is ionnected to theclevis, as in the construction set out in the modification shown in Figs. "Z and 8 Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. Aconnector having a hook, a keeper to close said hook, a pivot boltextending through said keeper and through said heok in rear of the ternal thereof and having a notch formed the n line with said keeper, saidkeeper having a relics; stud and the terminal of said hook having anopen ingto receive said stud, and means to rotate said pivot boltthrough a portion of a rovolution to bring the notch thereof so as toface toward the terminal of said hook or in an opposite direction. a

2. A connccter having a hook provided with a lug in rear of its bightand with an opening in its termii-ial! inclined 'inwardly'an-drearwardly away from the hight of said hook, a keeper having abifurcated rear end straddling said lug and having a stud at itsterminal adapted to enter the opening in the terminal of said hook,said. stud being inclined to conform to the inclination of said opening,a pivot bolt extending through the bifurcated portion of said keeper andthrough said lug and having spaced notches in the side thereof alinedwith the opposite portions of the bifurcated part of said keeper, andmeans to rotate said pivot bolt through a. portion of a revolution so asto face the notches in said pivot bolt toward the bight of said hook oraway fromthe same to respectively lock said keeper to said hook orpermit lengthwise and swinging movement of the keeper for disconnectionof the terminal of said keeper from the terminal of said hook.

3. A connectercomprising two clevises,

corresponding ends of said clevises havilrr 4;. A connecter comprisingtwo clevises having corresponding ends connected by interlinked eyes andhaving, respectively, an eye and a hook at their other ends, the hookbeing passed through said eye and said eye lying in contact with thebight of said hook, a keeper pivot-ally connected to said hook'in rearof the bight thereof and having a re flex stud at its terminal, theterminal of said hook having a correspondingly directed openingtheret-hrough to receive said stud, the pivot of said keeper comprisinga pivot bolt embodying in its construction means to prevent withdrawalof said stud fromsaid oaenin and upon rotation throu h a 3ortion of arevolution allowing combined lengthwise and swinging movement of saidkeeper so as to permit the withdrawal of said stud from said opening.

5. A eonnecter having a hook provided with an opening through itsterminal inclined inwardly and rearwardly, a keeper adapted to have itsouter end lie against the terminal of said hook and having an inwardlyand rearwardly inclined stud adapted to enter said opening, saidkeeperhaving its opposite end bifurcated and straddling .a portion of saidhook, a stop lug formed on said hook, a pivot bolt passed through saidhook and said keeper and retained against withdrawal from both, and afinger piece extendinglaterally from said pivot bolt and adapted to beswung against said stop lug or away from the same so as to rotate saidpivot bolt through a portion of a revolution, said pivot bolt havingnotches alined with the spaced parts of said bifurcated portion saidstop lug so as to assure the retention of said stud in said opening andthe consequent locking of the keeper to the terminal of said hook andbeing rotatable to direct said notches rearwardly when said finger pieceis moved away from saidstud, thus arovidin the necessar ala to permitcombined lengthwise and swinging movement. of said keeper and allow thewithdrawal of said stud from said opening. i I

6. A connecter havinga hook, a keeper to close said hook, a pivotboltextending .trans versely through said keeper and through said llOOlI'lIlrear of the terminal of'the latter and having a notch formed therein inline with said keeper, and means to rotate aid pivot bolt through aportion of a revolution to bring the notch thereof so as to face towardthe terminal of said hook or in an opposite direction.

7. A connecter having a hook, a keeper to close said hOOJ, the terminalsof said hook and said .keeper having interlocking means necessitatingmovement of said keeper lengthwise, and a pivot bolt extending transversely through said keeper'and through said hook inrear of the terminalof said hook, aid pivot'bolt embodying in its construction means topermit lengthwise and swinging movement of said keeper.

Intestimony whereof I affix my signature.

JOHN CLARK.

